History and Archaeology Compared

The empire known as Srivijaya lasted from around 680 to 1025. There are reasons to suspect that its integrity had already begun to fray around 840. A new Chinese desig­nation for the empire which controlled the vital passage between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea introduced in 906 may reflect a changing Chinese perception of the empire's structure, which had two poles of power and encompassed at least four major trading ports, or six if Takuapa and Laem Pho in southern Thailand are included.

Palembang was the center of the polity from the seventh through the early elev­enth centuries. Malayu/Jambi's rise preceded that of Srivijaya by a few decades, but it was subsumed under Srivijaya for 180 years. In the late eleventh century, Jambi surpassed Srivijaya in the contest for control of the southern entrance to the Straits. The lower Batang Hari was an important center of Buddhism and trade in the elev­enth and twelfth centuries. In the thirteenth century, Malayu's capital moved 250 kilometers upstream as a response to Javanese pressure. Few fifteenth-century re­mains have been found in the Batang Hari Valley, when Palembang seems to have regained predominant status.

At the northern end of the Straits, Kedah in Malaysia was connected with China, India, and the Near East by the early first millennium. If it were not for Yijing's remark in 685 that “Kedah is now Srivijaya,” we would have little reason to con­clude that Kedah had been incorporated into Srivijaya. Tamil sources which men­tion Kedah, including the inscription recording the Chola raid on Srivijaya, treat the Kedah ruler as more important than Srivijaya's maharaja. Rather than suffering from external domination after the Chola invasion, Kedah remained a wealthy trading port until the late thirteenth century.

In south Thailand, trading ports demonstrate a continuous history of activity spanning over 2,000 years.

Barus is technically not in the Straits of Melaka. Its importance stems from proximity to sources of local raw materials, particularly camphor. It was a desti­nation, rather than a stopping point on the routes between East and West Asia. Local inscriptions are written in Tamil and Javanese, and do not refer to Srivijaya. Archaeological remains indicate that the center of activity shifted several times be­tween the tenth and fourteenth centuries.

All four areas lack well-defined urban centers. Wolters suspected that one reason for the dearth of concentrated remains in Palembang might have been decentrali­zation of activities: one for governmental, others for social, commercial, and food­producing activities.^[1212]